It must be a Friday (in Japan), so here goes another newsletter. Not just any newsletter of course, but #100! Yay!

Many thanks of course to past editors Euan McKay and Jon Walden, and to all who have contributed over the years. It has taken a little longer to get to issue #100 than expected, but during the annus horribilis our digital infrastructure brought us in 2004, there were some internal infrastructure problems needed urgent fixing. "Engineer Tomas" is hard at work coordinating what will soon be our new "all-singing-all-dancing" database, mail problem is fixed and backlog slowly shrinking, 404 and other errors diminishing, and designs for the new apartments finally finished. All in all, I think its about time for the newsletter to return to it's traditional schedule.

(1) The first bits:

(a) Visas: Applications for the student visa for April 2005 have closed and we are selecting the intake. If you haven't received a confirmation that your application has been accepted for a long term visa, please check your email for confirmations. The final round of confirmations will be sent at the end of January. Apologies to those who were not accepted for April's student visa, making the selections is always a difficult process. Please note that if you missed out on a student visa for April, there might be some program vacancies for the Spring Quarter (enter using a tourist or other short stay visa), and that we are now accepting applications for the October visa. Re-applications are always welcome and considered.

(b) Discovery Program: Program dates and destinations for April 2005 to March 2006 are now (finally) on the site in the program catalog. Discovery remains the only program of its kind in Japan, and while it was already ultra-flexible, it is now even more so. In addition to being able to do the tour component either before, during or after the studies, you are now able to choose a wider range of study formats including for the first time, the three Acceleration Program Format 2 options.

(c) Weekend optional tours: Skiing & snowboarding, cultural sites etc dominate the winter options. I will publish the tour itinerary for the spring and summer quarters on Monday evening. Cheaper than independent travel by train, with door to door service and a guide. If you are not careful, you can even learn stuff. Next week it will be possible to book, pay for and confirm your place for the Gion festival, the Mount Fuji climb, world heritage listed Shirakawa-go etc, without leaving your geekbox - as the reservations system now available online. If you prefer to pay cash or by bank transfer, please contact Mr Toshiyuki Nakajima in the Student Services office (ground floor, Yamasa II building).

(d) Okazaki Guidebook: The online version of the new Okazaki Guidebook is up, and looking at the server log quite a few of you are already using it. If you are looking for a place to do karate, eat succulent delights, visit a Jodo, Zen or any other kind of Buddhist temple in Okazaki, find the perfect souvenir, find out much it costs to send a box full of dictionaries/texts/notes etc home by air economy post at the end of your course, discover which festivals are when, book a hotel for your parents or friends coming to visit you, find out where you can get the perfect pint of Guinness on a Monday night, read up on how to open a bank account or find a good camera shop, and so on and so forth, have a good look. Suggestions for improvements are always welcome.

(e) "Billiard Table Fund": Just as you can't have a good school without classrooms, faculty, computer labs, theaters, extensive accommodations and so on and so forth, it has been repeated expressed over the years (and not just by me) that what Yamasa really needs is a mighty fine billiard table. Please note that I have nothing against ping pong. I like ping pong. I enjoy ping pong. Some of my best friends are ping pong fiends. But while too much ping pong is never enough, billiards is a little more. The table will be located either in Aoi Hall or in the future version of the bar, depending on how long it takes for us to scrape together enough yen. Donations are been gratefully received at Zig Zag. The latest contribution chiiiiing! was 22 five yen and 215 one yen coins from Mark Fay (Discovery, USA). During the next week I'll put a running tally up on the website somewhere.

(f) Bulldozers: As was mentioned in the previous newsletter, we are building another 20 apartments. The name of the new building is currently designated "Residence Hane" (pronounced huh-ne, not hayne). The breaking of the ground ceremony will be held on January 21st from 9.30am and we'll get some video for those unable to attend. Construction started January 11th and has so far resulted in the demolition of the basketball halfcourt area. You can see regular updates of the construction and fit out, as well as floor plans etc at the link below. Please don't bombard me with questions about the new apartments just yet - as I don't know some of the answers either. If you are interested in living in the new Residence Hane, please check the following link which will include regular updates.
http://www.yamasa.org/english/reshane.html

(g) Other bits:

• Make a little bit of money by writing articles for the newsletter. See the contributions page for details.
• Find a course: see the program catalog.
• Contact Admissions if you have any questions.
• See below for information regarding course deadlines.

The Editor
Yamasa News
The Yamasa Institute - Aichi Center for Japanese Studies
1-2-1 Hanehigashimachi Okazaki
Aichi Japan 444-0832

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(2) Course Information

Accommodation

If you are coming to Okazaki during the next few months, please visit the housing availability file (Opens new window).

Message from Yukiko Iijima (Housing Officer): Please also note that it is extremely important that you rank your accommodation preferences clearly. Upgrades are possible in the event of cancellations - so if your first preference is a single room in the village, select "Village single" as first choice, "Residence U" as your second choice and so on.

Long-term Courses:

Applications for October Student Visa intake: April admissions for long term visas have closed (see below for short term applications). We are now accepting applications for the student visa from October. Early applications are advised. Please note that applications for October are usually more competitive than for April due to the selection process and the limited number of visas we are allocated by the Immigration Bureau for October. To obtain application forms click here.

Short-term courses:

All Extension programs have space from January 20th. For Academic programs, the next available start date for AIJP, AJSP and Acceleration Format 1 is April 6th 2005. Student visa applications for April have closed, but for applicants for 1 academic quarter only, using a short term tankitaizai (tourist) or other appropriate visa, applications close February 23rd. Tour destinations: There are still a few vacancies for the Hokkaido tour in February. We will be visiting a variety of destinations including Hakodate - Fort Goryokaku, Mount Hakodate, the Kanemori historic area and the Hakodate Beer Hall. In Sapporo we visit Odori Koen & Makomanai sites for the Sapporo Snow Festival, Susukino for the ice carvings and Ramen Yokocho. Jozankei Onsen, Skiing/Snowboarding, Aka Renga, the Hoheikan in Nakajima-koen, and the Winter Sports Musuem - enjoy riding a bobsleigh, try your reflexes as a hockey goalkeeper, or simulate flying off the 90 meter jump! There are also many other destinations. See http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/programs/discovery_20050204a.html for more information.

Skiing/Snowboarding Also, please keep January 21-23 and February 12-13 free if you want to go skiing or snowboarding. We are going to Hakuba (site of the 1998 Winter Olympics) and schuss down the Super G course, snowboard, or try throwing snowballs at me. Retaliation is guaranteed.